Display stand



A ril 24, 1934. J. w. BRENNAN 1,956,115

DISPLAY STAND Filed Nov. 23, 1931 SSheets-Sheet 1 gwue/ntou 70m Zd April1934. J. w. BRENNAN 1,956,115

2 DISPLAY STAND Filed Nov. 23, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 VIHWU A ril 24,1934. J. w. BRENNAN DI SPLAY STAND Filed Nov. 23, 1931 3 $heets-Sheet 3gme'ntov Patented Apr. 24, 1934 DISPLAY STAND Application November 23,1931, Serial No. 576,825

8 Claims.

This invention relates to collapsible display stands, and moreparticularly, it relates to display stands such as are commonly used inretail stores for bread and cake.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device of this generalcharacter which can be readily collapsed so that the various partsthereof lie in a flat, compact body, and a relatively small amount ofspace is required for shipment.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a strong and rigiddisplay stand which can be readily set up by the merchant without thenecessity of gluing or otherwise permanently securing any of its parts.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a device of the classdescribed having a sloping or inclined merchandise display top section.As will be readily appreciated by one skilled in the art, an inclinedsupporting surface for the merchandise is advantageous because itpermits a ready inspection of the goods. When such a surface is used,however, it is necessary to provide means for preventing the articlesbeing displayed from sliding down the inclined surface, and it is animportant object of my invention to provide article holding abutmentsabove the surface of the inclined display tray. Furthermore, I proposeto utilize these abutments as an interlocking means between the base ofthe stand and the top section to prevent collapse of the stand.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a collapsible displaystand of the class described, having an advertising display cardassociated therewith in such relation that the card forms a part of thestand and assists in securing the various parts together. Furthermore,the card, in certain cases, may be removed from the display stand andanother substituted, for the purpose showing different advertisingmatter.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe specification proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters referto like parts throughout the several views, an embodiment of myinvention is shown, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the display stand when set up andready for use;

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the device shown inFigure 1 and is taken on section line 2-2 thereof;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section of the same taken on line 3-3of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of my display stand in partiallycollapsed position;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of my display standand shows a removable advertising display card in position to be mountedon the stand;

Figure 6 is a transverse vertical section of said modified form showingthe card in position, and

Figure 7 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on line 7-7 of Figure6.

The display stand of my invention is made up of two principal sections,namely a base section indicated generally by reference character A andan article holding top section B. Proceeding first with a description ofthe base section A, it will be noted that it comprises parallel sidewalls 3, 4 having inclined upper edges 5, 6 which slope downwardly fromthe rear toward the front. I provide front and rear end walls 8, 9respectively and these walls and the side walls are hinged together onvertical lines at the four corners. It will thus be seen that afour-sided parallelogram base has been provided which may be readilycollapsed by moving one side and either adjacent end toward the otherside and end walls.

For purposes which will presently become apparent, I use one or moreintermediate transverse supporting elements as part of my base section.These elements are shown at 10, l1 and constitute vertical stripshingedly secured to the side walls 3, 4 by bent over portions 12.Although I have shown two such elements, more or less may be used. Itwill be noted that the connec-- tions between the transverse supportingelements and the side walls are in vertical hinge lines, so that they donot in any way interfere with the easy collapse of the base section. Thebase disclosed comprises three adjacent parallelograms, and, as will bereadily appreciated, this construction permit the parts to be collapsedinto a fiat compact body.

The upper edges 13 of the transverse supporting elements lie in the sameplane as the upper inclined edges of the side walls 3, 4. The transversesupporting elements are provided with one or more upwardly extendingprojecting portions 14 which extend upwardly a substantial distanceabove the plane defined by the edges 5, 6 of the side walls and theedges 13 of the supporting elements.

It will be noted that the supporting elements are of progressivelyincreasing height and that their lower edges lie in the same plane asthe lower edges of the side and end walls, so that when the stand issupported upon a horizontal counter or shelf in a store, the abovedefined plane is inclined to the horizontal.

. each other.

from time to time.

The head end wall 9 is preferably provided with an upwardly extendingportion upon which advertising matter may be conveniently displayed. Thefoot end section 8 is provided with extensions 16 which act as articleholding abutments, as will be described below.

The top section of my display stand comprises a sheet of cardboard orthe like material 17 having a plurality of perforations 19 therein. Asshown in the drawings, the top member has a downwardly extending flange20 at its lower or forward end secured to the end member 8 of the basestructure. Furthermore, the upper or rear end of the top section may beprovided with a downwardly bent flange 21 which may be tucked inside ofthe base structure adjacent the rear end wall. It will be obvious,however, that instead of utilizing the specific structure shown in mydrawings, I might use a single sheet of material unattached to the basesection and not provided with the downwardly extending flanges. In anycase, the upwardly extending portions of the two end walls willcooperate with edges at the front and the rear of the top section toincrease the rigidity of the display stand.

The perforations 19 perform an important function in that they permitthe upwardly extending portions 14: of the cross members to extendthrough the top section, in interlocked relation thereto, for thepurpose of preventing the base from collapsing. It will be apparent thatthe projection of these members through the rela tively rigid top memberwill prevent the collapsing movement of the side and cross memberstoward Furthermore, these projections perform an equally important,though secondary, function of acting as article holding abutments abovethe top section. That is, when cake and bread or other articles to bedisplayed are placed upon the top section 17, they will tend to slideforwardly down the inclined surface. The projection of the members 14through the inclined surface restrain this tendency, and the goods restsecurely against them. The extensions 16 on the end wall 8 perform asimilar function and prevent the downward movement of articles placedthereabove on the top section.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figures 5, 6 and '7, theupwardly extending portion 15a of the rear end wall 9 is made of aseparate piece of cardboard, and is removable from the end wall. This isan advantageous construction because, with the use of a plurality of endpieces 15a, a great variety of advertising matter may be displayed, andthe cards changed In this form of the invention, I provide the end wall9 with one or more upwardly extending ears 9a which cooperate with thetop section B in a similar manner to the members 14 in the form of theinvention previously described. These ears 9a project throughperforations 19a located near the rear edge of the top section B. Inthis form of the invention, the top section B extends rearwardly overthe upper edge of the rear end wall 9 and is supported thereby insubstantially the same manner as the section B is supported by the upperedges of the transverse supporting elements 10-1l in the previouslydescribed form of the invention.

The advertising display card 15a is removably secured to the stand bymeans of the projection of a downwardly extending tongue 22 through aslot 23 at the rear of the top section B, and through another slot 24 inthe rear end wall 9. In assembling this device, the top section B isswung downwardly cover the base section A and the upwardly extendingears 1l-9a are projected through corresponding slots in the top section.The tongue 22 of the advertising card 15a is then inserted through theslot 23 and the lower end thereof is then tucked through the slot 24 andthe card forced downwardly as far as it will go.

It will be apparent that the interlocking relation of the ears 9a withthe slots 19a, and of the tongue 22 with the slots .23, 24 will resultin an extremely rigid construction. Furthermore, this form of theinvention has the advantage mentioned above, namely that a plurality ofdifferent display cards may be used with the stand for the purpose ofshowing different advertising matter.

It will be apparent from an inspection of Figure 4 that the displaystand of my invention may be readily collapsed by merely removing thetop section 17 and pushing the side wall 3 and the end wall 8 toward theside Wall 4 and the other end wall 9. When the device has beencollapsed, all of the parts lie in closely related juxtaposed planes,and a relatively small amount of space is required for shipment.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a construction in which all ofthe objects of the invention are accomplished. The stand may be readilycollapsed, but when it is set up, the article supporting tray cooperateswith the base structure in such manner that an extremely rigid displaystand is provided.

I claim:-

1. A collapsible display stand comprising a base section and an inclinedarticle holding top section, said base section comprising vertical sideand end walls having their upper edges lying in an inclined plane, saidwalls being hinged together on vertical lines, and a plurality oftransverse supporting elements hinged to said side walls on lines spacedfrom the hinge lines of said end walls to form a collapsibleparallelogram base structure, said supporting elements having portionsof their upper edges lying in substantially the inclined plane of theupper edges of said side walls, said elements having projecting portionsextending above said plane, said top section comprising a perforatedsheet lying in said inclined plane of said edges and supported by saidedges, said projecting portions of said supporting members extendingthrough the perforations in said sheet, whereby said top section isinterlocked with said base section to prevent collapse of saidparallelogram structure.

2. A collapsible display stand comprising a base section and an inclinedarticle holding top section, said base section comprising vertical sideand end walls hinged together on vertical lines and a plurality oftransverse supporting elements hinged to said side walls and lying inplanes parallel to said end walls to form a collapsible parallelogrambase structure, said side and end walls and said supporting elementshaving portions of their upper edges lying in substantially a commoninclined plane, said elements and said end walls having projectingportions extending above said inclined plane, said top sectioncomprising a perforated sheet lying in said inclined plane andsupportedby said edges, said projecting portions of said supportingmembers extending through the perforations in said sheet and theprojecting portions of said end walls contacting the front and rearedges of said sheet, to form an interlock between the top and basesections and to prevent collapse of the latter, said projecting portionsalso acting as article holding abutments for the inclined top section.

3. A collapsible display stand comprising a base section and an inclinedarticle holding top section, said base section comprising vertical sideand end walls hinged together on vertical lines, and a transversesupporting element, said element comprising a vertical strip hingedlysecured at its ends to said side walls on lines spaced from the hingelines between said side and end walls and having a portion of its upperedge lying in the plane of the upper edges of said side walls, saidsupporting element having a projectingj portion extending substantiallyabove said plane, said top section comprising a perforated sheet lyingin said plane and supported by edges, said projecting portion of saidsupporting element being projected upwardly through a perforation insaid sheet to a point substantially above said sheet to form aninterlock between base section and said inclined top section and toprevent an article placed thereon from sliding therefrom.

4. A collasible display stand comprising a base section and an inclin darticle holding top secticn, saidbase section comprising vertical sideand end walls hinged together on vertical lines, and a plurality oftransverse supporting elements hinged to said side walls and havingportions of their upper edges lying in the plane of the upper edges ofsaid side wall, said plane being inclined forwardly to the plane of thelower edges of said walls, said supporting elements each having aprojecting portion extending substantially above said inclined plane,said top section comprising a perforated sheet lying in plane andsupported by said edges, said projected portions of said supportingelements extending through said perforations in sheet to form articleholding abutments on said inclined top section, and to interlock saidbase section with said top section.

5. A collapsible display stand comprising a base section and an inclinedarticle holding display section, said base section comprising verticalwalls and vertical front and rear end walls hinged together on verticallines, and a plurality of transverse supporting elements hinged to saidside walls in parallel relation to said end walls, said supportingelements having portions of their edges lying in the plane of the upperedges 1" said side walls, said plane being inclined forwardly towardsaid vertical front wall, each of said supporting elements having aprojecting portion extending substantially above said inclined plane,said front end wall having a projecting portion extending above saidinclined plane, top section comprising a perforated sheet lying in saidinclined plane of said ed es and supported by said edges, saidprojecting portions of aid supporting elements being extended throughsaid perforations in said sheet to interlock said base section with saidtop, and constituting article holding abutments on said inclined topsection, said projecting portion of said front wall constituting anadditional article holding abutment for said inclined top section.

6. A collapsible display stand comprising a base section and an inclinedarticle holding top section, said base section comprising vertical sideand front and rear end walls and a plurality of transverse supportingelements hinged to said side walls to form a collapsible structure, saidsupporting elements and said rear end wall having portions of theirupper edges lying in substantially the plane of the upper edges of saidside Walls and having other portions constituting ears projecting abovesaid plane, said top section comprising a perforatedsheet hinged to theupper edge of said front end wall and lying in said plane of said edgesand supported thereby, said ears being extended through saidperforations in said sheet to act as abutments adapted to preventsliding of articles placed on said top, and to form an interlock betweenthe base section and the inclined top section, and prevent collapse ofthe former.

7. A collapsible display stand comprising a base section, an articleholding top section, and a removable upwardly extending locking element,said base section comprising vertical side and end walls having portionsof their upper edges lying in a common plane, said top sectioncomprising a perforated sheet lying in said plane, interlockin means onsaid top section and said base section to prevent accidental relativemovement between said sections, said locking element having a portionprojected downwardly through one of said perforations said top sectioninto contact with a portion of one of said end walls of said base tohold said element in upright position and to interlock said sectionstogether.

8. A collapsible display stand comprising a base section, an articleholding top section, and a removable upwardly extending locking element,said base section comprising vertical side and end walls having portionsof their upper edges lying in a common plane, one of said end wallshaving a perforation therein, said top section comprising a perforatedsheet lying in said plane, interlocking means on said top section andsaid base section to prevent accidental relative movement between saidsections, said locking element having a portion projected downwardlythrough one of said perforations in said top section, and through saidperforation in said end wall whereby said element is supported inupright position and forms an interlock between said base section andsaid top section.

JOHN W. BRENNAN.

